Oil Tanker Explodes During Rush Hour On Nigerian Highway

Oil tanker explodes during rush hour on Nigerian highway, burning 54 cars

By Siobhán O'Grady

June 29, 2018 at 8:48 AM

At least nine people were killed when a fuel tanker exploded on a highway in Lagos, Nigeria, on June 28. (Rapid Response Squad)

The footage looks like a scene from a horror movie: A massive cloud of smoke envelops a Nigerian roadway as bright red and orange flames engulf a line of passenger cars. Emergency workers trudge down an oil-slicked road, carrying body bags.

On Thursday evening, an oil tanker exploded in Lagos, Nigeria, setting more than 50 cars on fire during rush hour in the megacity. At least nine people died.

“Petrol started leaking. A bus ran into it. The fire hadn't started, then a car ran into the bus, which caused the fuel to ignite,” a witness, Oludare Adodo, told CNN. “Suddenly, I heard a loud 'blam!' ”

“Some folks were abandoning their cars and running, and those closest to the tanker were simply merged into a wall of red,” he added.

Emergency personnel carry the remains of a victim at the scene of an oil tanker explosion on a highway in Lagos on Thursday. (Kareem Ibrahim/AFP/Getty Images)

Around 180 million people live in Nigeria, making it Africa's most populous nation. And the country has a massive oil industry but imports much of its fuel because of a lack of functioning refineries. Nigeria's already crowded roadways, many of which are poorly paved, are made even more dangerous by oil tankers. Thursday's explosion occurred on the Lagos-Ibadan highway, one of the busiest entry and exit points for the commercial capital that is home to more than 22 million people.

A car is lifted onto a truck after a fire accident involving an oil tanker along the Lagos-Ibadan expressway in the Ojodu axis of Lagos, Nigeria, on Friday. (Akintunde Akinleye/Reuters)

Such explosions are not uncommon in Nigeria.

In 2012, nearly 100 people were killed in Port Harcourt, Nigeria's oil hub, after an oil tanker tipped over the side of the road. Some people approached the tanker in an effort to collect the fuel for themselves, then found themselves trapped in a massive fire when it exploded. According to Nigerian news outlet the Premium Times, Lagos State recorded 115 petroleum tanker accidents in 2016 alone.

The World Health Organization has labeled Nigeria one of the most dangerous countries for driving.

Passersby walk amid burned cars after an oil tanker exploded Thursday on a highway in Lagos, killing nine people in a huge blaze. (AFP)

Siobhán O’Grady writes about foreign affairs for the Washington Post. She previously freelanced across Africa and worked as a staff writer at Foreign Policy magazine.